The 16-bed Children’s Ward and 11 incubators NICU will help pro­vide healthcare services to children and their mothers in the health centre without transferring them to neighboring hospitals.

The project which began after the sod-cutting is expected to be completed in September 2025.

According to the Medical Direc­tor of VHSL, Dr Kwabena Omari Yeboah, the new facility would also have executive ward to provide healthcare services to “dignitaries and tourists” who visit the area, and would need healthcare.

The sod-cutting ceremony formed part of the activities to mark the 60th anniversary cele­brations of VHSL which was held last Thursday, in Akosombo, in the Eastern Region.

The celebration which brought together some dignitaries in the health and energy sectors, board, management, retired staff, staff of VHSL and some community mem­bers was on the theme ‘60 Years of Touching Lives with Quality Healthcare.’

“For the past 60 years, we have not had a children’s ward as a unit on its own, it was just one room in the female ward which was a challenge to us, and also when we have a pre-term baby we have to transport them to neighboring town hospitals which results in some babies losing their lives in the forest during the transit.

So when that realisation came, we decided to build a NICU and children’s ward as part of our 60th anniversary celebrations in order to help us provide healthcare to pre-term babies and children at large,” he said.

Mr Krappa urged the manage­ment and staff of VHSL to lever­age on innovation and technology in providing healthcare services in the coming years.

He noted that, healthcare de­livery had evolved into preventive care rather than curative care, add­ing that the system was anchored by innovation and technology.

“I am glad that, you are working with the innovative and techno­logically healthcare delivery system and will continue to work with that in the years to come, it is my hope that when we gather again to cele­brate another milestone of the hos­pital, we will focus on the achieve­ment, especially in innovation and the deployment of modern technology to providing healthcare delivery for all our people and our patients,” Mr Krappa said.

He commended the management of the hospital for being resilient in providing healthcare services to the staff of the authority and the public, adding that it was his hope other agencies emulate the commit­ment and resilience of VHSL staff.

The Chief Executive Officer of VRA, Mr Emmanuel Antwi-Dark­wa, said the hospital was putting in place state-of-the-art equipment to attract patients from other regions and beyond for the best medical services.

“It is proud to note that VHSL has been extensively retooled with ultra-modern equipment, such as mammogram machines, digital X ray machines, high resolution ultra­sound machine, modern laboratory equipment, modern equipment for eye surgeries and the expansion of clinical services,” he highlighted.